People Tend to Adopt Dog Breeds Featured in Movies
This past weekend, I saw Heather Graham wearing cut-off shorts with lacy black tights. Someone seeing this fashion statement might be quick to run out and buy a similar outfit.
Stories by Julie Hecht
Do Our Bonds With Animals Survive Death?
Grover Krantz was onto something when he had his remains donated to science. A professor of anthropology, he didn't see why death should interrupt his life-long teaching.
How a Dog Aced the Verbal Section of the Canine SAT
Chaser, a Border Collie from South Carolina, knows the names of over 1,000 different objects. Does anyone find themselves looking at their tail-wagging friend and wondering, "Well, what do you know?" When it comes to whether dogs can understand words, Chaser—the subject of not one, but two scientific publications—can attest that the answer is: Yes...
Do Dogs Respond to Videotaped Commands?
This question was not proposed by a mad scientist bent on world doggie domination. The idea to see whether dogs follow life-sized videos is actually entirely sensible.
Game Boy, Pimples and Archie Comics: Before They Were Scientists
Tracking Cats. A Book of Common Ants. Want to meet the mites on your forehead or the bacteria in your armpits? Get all that and more at Your Wild Life.
Put Your Nose First: Smellwalks for You and Your Dog
There was no way I was going to miss something called a `Smellwalk.' A social dilettante at heart, I revel in time spent in the mind of others — especially those who add an entirely different color to the palate of my worldview...
What's a Dog For?
A few years back, John Homans, former executive editor of New York magazine, published What's a Dog For? — an intimate reflection on his beloved family dog, Stella, as well as a snapshot into the flourishing field of canine science...
Are Off-Leash Experiences Good For You and Your Dog?
Live with a companion dog, and you've probably come across the Rainbow Bridge idea, a mythical land where pets go when they pass to meet with their owners at a later date.
The Dog Killer in Your Pocket
Your pocket can hold many potentially lethal items, so let me be more specific: `What's the Dog Killer in Your Pocket That You Wish No Longer Existed?' Can you guess?
Do You Know a Fat Dog When You See One?
We've all met dogs with a small head and large body who bear a striking resemblance to the people with shrunken heads from the movie Beetlejuice.
Comedians Do Everybody Good (Researchers Included)
In my perfect world, artist-in-residence is just the beginning. In my perfect world, all researchers and research institutions are paired with a comedian-in-residence.
Pulp Fiction Gangster Gets Dogs
Pulp Fiction gangster Jules Winnfield is right. "A dog's got personality, and personality goes a long way.” Cross-species animal behavior studies confirm Winnfield's statement (although he's wrong about pigs: pigs have personality, too)...
Canine Science: A Trend You Can Easily Get Behind
Most trends I can't get behind. Hammer pants should have stayed in the 1980s and 1990s and far away from 2014 (there, I said it). Sure, I love a good flash mob, but the more of 'em you do, the older they get...
The Unexpected Dog Killer
For some, it happens in the bathroom. For others, it's the living room. All across America, as fireworks go off on July 4th, many dogs experience varying degrees of fear and stress.
Dog-Eared Reading (June 2014)
I had one of those `woe is me' moments in September 2013, lamenting that on top of my personal dog-related To-Do lists there is so much dog-related reading to take in each month–much of it covering canine science research...
Canine Science Summer Camp
I always loved summer camp — the forced rituals and the chaos and buzz of lots of people doing similar activities. Even though the age of summer camp is far behind me, I still find myself thrown into grown-up versions of “summer camp.” Earlier this year, I joined up with Academia Film Olomouc (Twitter, Facebook) [...]..
Why I Locked a Cat in the Bathroom and You Would Have Too
The first thing I noticed was his balls. Peering out my back window at the unfamiliar cat lounging in the courtyard, my eyes immediately fell on the two testicles protruding from his backside...
Is Dog Training Scientific?
Dog owners seem pleased when they meet me because they can talk about their dog with someone who is truly interested. Sometimes they share intricate descriptions about something interesting that their dog does (often followed with the question, "Why does she do that?"), and other times, owners have a question like, "How do I get [...]..
Don't Let These Dog Projects Pass You By
Over the last few years, there has been a surge in public-participation science projects, and I don’t mean watching dog videos on YouTube.
Maybe Dogs Don't Want to be Walked by a Drone
I like playing the game, "What's going to make people mad?" Dogs wearing pantyhose = mass hysteria! A dog being walked by a drone = not cool...
